Royal Mail Bars Saucy Seaside Postcard Smilers

The Times of Malta reports, "The company behind many of Britain’s classic saucy seaside postcards has been barred from putting a selection of the images on stamps because they are considered 'too racy'. Bamforth – which publishes the cheeky cartoon cards that are a familiar sight on seafronts across the UK – applied to have 10 of its pictures printed as a customised Smilers sheet by the Royal Mail.

"But only three of the 10 were considered suitable. Smilers are personalised stamps created by the Royal Mail for firms and individuals from submitted images which can be used to send letters, just like any other stamps."

Reporter Dave Higgens pens, "Leeds-based Bamforth said it is furious about the decision given the millions of postcards which have been sent over the decades and the amount of trade this has generated for the nation’s postal service. It called the decision  'censorship gone mad'. The firm said it had carefully planned its Smilers submission and brought in postcard dealer Gary Worsnop to select 10 of the company’s 45,000 images to represent each decade from 1900 to 2000."

A Royal Mail official said: “Smilers allow customers to personalise their post by combining one of their own photos with a Royal Mail stamp. There are a number of restrictions on images which can be used on Smilers stamps, including images which may be deemed offensive or depict full or partial nudity."

Shown above, one of the postcard images which were rejected.

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